Tag Archives: Darfur

President Omar al-Bashir has told every aid organization working in Darfur they must leave within one year or they will be thrown out. His defiant words came after the silence following his announcement last week that 13 agencies that were working with over two million refugees in Darfur had to leave. Strutting in his brand new uniform, the pompous thug who runs Sudan, announced: “I ordered humanitarian affairs officials that in one year we don’t want any foreign aid organizations working with our citizens and that Sudanese organizations will fulfill this role.” There is absolutely no chance Sudan organizations can or wish to work with Darfur refugees, given that Sudan rogue groups like the janjaweed were the ones who drove people from Darfur.

Al-Bashir in his sneering manner of dialogue said if the outside world seeks to send aid to Darfur they can leave the packages at the airport. Of course, if they are left at the air port, it is a certainty aid will never reach a single refugee. The Sudan leader could get away with this attitude because Muslim and Arab nations decried the International Criminal Court for issuing a warrant for his arrest. These are the same groups which go beserk when Israel violates international law, but in their view, genocide by Muslims or Arabs is not a cause of anger.

The future of Darfur remains unclear even after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan whose government has been responsible for the terror which has engulfed the region. A few days ago, three foreign aid workers were kidnapped and then released. The kidnappers said they seized the people to aid their nation and released them to aid their nation. The issue right now is whether the ICC decision to issue a warrant is either a piece of paper or an actual document which can be enforced. There is scant hope anything will come of the warrant because neither the European Union nor the United States is prepared to do anything other than express sorrow at the murders and rapes in Darfur.

There is one approach which might work –an air and sea embargo that would prevent Sudan from exporting or importing goods. American and EU air forces could readily impose such a ban without the undue expenditure of men or money. But, the Muslim world would undoubtedly scream in anger and raise the name of Israel. In the meantime, thousands of innocent people in Darfur suffer.

Gamal Nkruma, writing in Al-Ahram, blasted the International Criminal Court warrant for the arrest of Sudan President Al-Bashir and claimed it was a typical western double standard approach that focuses on Muslims and ignores other issues of genocide. He argues removing Bahir will somehow lead to “chaos” and result in a civil war that would send millions across the border into Egypt. “Why is the Sanese president indicted for war crimes when the Israeli leaders are not l brought to book for the atrocities committed in Gaza? Why is the Sudanese president signaled out for retribution?” He admits that Sudan has “committed mistakes and human rights violations,” but his nation can not stand by and “watch our brethren in Sudan suffer such indignities at the hands of the ICC.” In a nutshell, his argument is the indictment is another example of the West intervening in the affairs of a Muslim nation.

The murder of 300,000 people and the rape of thousands of women in Darfur is not exactly in the same league at the Israel invasion of Gaza. These actions are not merely “mistakes” and human rights violations, they are deliberate acts to kill and rape. There is no such evidence the Israel government has any such plans. The invasion of Gaza was wrong, it was an over-reaction to provocation from Hamas rockets, but it was not part of a plan to completely wipe out the people living in Darfur.

I find it interesting the Egyptian writer mentions Israel war crimes but ignores the FIVE MILLION KILLED IN CONGO or the 60,000 killed in Uganda. The essence of a war crime is that it was committed in a deliberate manner according to a plan of death for large numbers of people and there were no grounds of provocation by the victims. Sudan fits that description. Why don’t Arab nations ever cite the mass murder in the Congo or Uganda? Just wondering.

Sudan leader Omar Hassan al-Bashir showed his defiance of the International Criminal Court warrant for his arrest by flying into the capital of Darfur to me met by cheering thousands of supporters who undoubtedly were rounded up to show they stood behind their president. His decision to expel some of the largest groups supplying aid to millions of refugees is bound to cause the death of thousands who are trapped in camps because they cannot return home. It is interesting that no prominent Muslim group has stepped up to denounce the actions of Bashir who threw out groups that were feeding and caring for Muslim people. The unwritten rule of Muslims is to denounce any Christian or Jew who commits an act they deem immoral, but to remain silent when Muslim leaders oppressive the innocent.

The assumption of al-Bashir’s action is undoubtedly a show of force since he does not believe any European power or the United States will take action against him. It is unfortunate that President Obama does not join with the European Union in declaring an air embargo of travel from Sudan until the aid organizations are allowed to return. Economic sanctions do not always work, but they might succeed in Sudan with relatively scant use of armed forces.

The bottom line is no one will really do anything to aid the oppressed people of Darfur.

On one hand, Middle Eastern and African Muslims have decried actions by Israel which violate human rights and have resulted in the death of over 1,200 Gazans, but in the next breath, thousands demonstrate in support of a war criminal who has killed over 300,000 in Darfur and caused the rape of thousands of women. The Organization of Islamic Conference condemned the International Criminal Court for issuing a warrant for the arrest of Sudan President Omar al-Beshir. The organization argued the warrant would cause destabilization of the region, but it did urge Sudan to investigate charges of war crimes. Iran and Hamas officials arrived in Khartoum to pledge support for the war criminal.

The world can only note the hypocrisy of Hamas leaders who rant and rave against Israel for killing people in Gaza, but apparently the death of 300,000 is of no interest to them because defending a Muslim comes before defending oppressed people in the world. Naturally, there are no protests in European universities at the death of 300,000 people and rape of thousands of women. If an Israel soldier raped a single Arab women the streets of London would be filled with angry students. It is not surprising that Muslims in Africa and the Middle East remain silent at the death of innocent people because the only thing that is of concern to them is the cause of Palestinians.

Believe it or not one can be concerned about the rights of Palestinians and the rights of oppressed people in Darfur. How about Muslim trying to be concerned about oppression throughout the world instead of having selective anger?

Sudan President Omar al-Bashir insists he is not a war criminal and the recent action by the International Criminal Court which issued a warrant for his address is unfair and illegal. Even as the war criminal claimed he was not one, his government expelled 13 agencies from Darfur which had been administering aid to starving people. In other words, only a war criminal would allow thousands of people to do without food and medical aid because he is angry at the West. About 4.7 million people rely on food, medical or water aid in Darfur, including 2.7 million who have been displaced by the fighting. The expelled organizations carry out at least 50 percent of the relief work. The Dutch section of Medecins sans Frontieres complained, “these are lives at risk; without medical treatment people are going to die. It’s absurd that we cannot treat people because of politics.”

Thousands of relief workers will be forced to leave Darfur which means local people can handle the situation for a few weeks but after that, the lives of millions will be at risk. Aid officials are furious because government sources insisted even with the issuance of a warrant they would still be allowed to help people. The expulsion of aid workers simply proves once again to the world that Omar al-Bashir is a war criminal and a vicious individuial.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudan President Omar al-Beshir for his role in murdering hundreds of thousands of innocent people in Darfur. The defiant ruler of Sudan who seized power 20 years ago is furious at the accusation and refuses to acknowledge any guilt for his actions. The ICC said the arrest warrant cited five counts of crimes against humanity which included: murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture, rape and two counts of war crimes. Beshir has refused to cooperate with the court over their claim he is responsible for the death of 300,000 people. In his view, the warrant would “not be worth the ink it is written in.”

There is scant likelihood the Sudan president will actually be arrested in the near future. However, a precedent has been established that murder of innocent people can result in being charged in an international court of justice. Perhaps, this is a symbolic victory, but it is the first step on attempting to establish international processes of justice.

Howard Jacobson, writing in the Independent, raises several interesting questions about why is there such intense hatred of Israel among British university protestors and intellectuals in the United Kingdom. I have been fascinated why the level of hate to Jews in Israel far surpasses the hatred directed at those who kill hundreds of thousands of humans. There is something particularly angry and vicious about the manner in which those opposing Israel policies explode in righteous hate when the word “Israel” reaches their lips. I have never seen any demonstrations against the killing of five million people in the Congo which is characterized by hate toward the perpetrators of the killing. In fact, words such as “killing” are employed while killing by the Israel army is termed, “slaughter” or “massacre.” I wonder why.

For years Hamas sent rockets into Israel, and those who express hatred toward Israel argue the rocket attacks were ineffective so there is no reason to become upset at those actions. Actually, Hamas deliberately sent rockets into civilian areas including those which had children and to justify these actions on grounds the rockets were “ineffective” begs the question of what does one say when a group aims rockets at civilian areas? Certainly, the hope of Hamas was to KILL JEWS, not just to fire ineffective rockets.

Mr. Jacobson points out that Cheryl Churchill was quoted as saying “Jewish children are bred to believe in the ‘otherness’ of Palestinians. An interesting observation, particularly from someone who I doubt has ever visited Israeli schools or talked with Israel teachers. How does Ms. Churchill know that hatred toward Palestinians is part of the Israeli curriculum? Of course, in every Muslim nation in the Middle East, teachers preach hatred of Jews and Israel. Every day I read newspapers from the Middle East and the cartoons depicting Jews are vicious and writers boast that young people must believe in the truth of the Palestinian struggle. I am not arguing if the Palestinian view of the struggle is right or wrong, but could Ms. Churchill cite any example in any Arab newspaper where the views of Israelis are presented?

I constantly see placards with slogans about the “Holocaust in Gaza.” There is no Holocaust in Gaza and there never will be one. The Holocaust was a government program aimed at killing every single Jew in Europe with the ultimate goal of killing every single Jew in the world. No Israeli politician, even the foul mouthed Avigdor Lieberman, has ever stated such a goal.

I oppose the Israel invasion of Gaza as I oppose mistakes made by Israeli politicians over the past few years. But, how can anyone just focus on Israel mistakes without commenting about those of demagogic Muslim leaders who would rather see death and destruction than live in peace with Israel?

I must conclude that the intensity of hate toward Israel reflects hidden anti-semitism. How else can one explain the viciousness of the hate toward one country and the absence of such hate toward the murder of 200,000 in Darfur and the expulsion of millions? In Uganda, rebel armies have killed 60,000 people but not one British demonstration has been held at which protestors denounce the Holocaust in Uganda. Why?

Every so often the media will decide to devote a few paragraphs or a few photos to the tragedy which unfurls in Darfur almost daily. Over 300,000 are dead, but their deaths have never generated the notice or protests which accompanied recent deaths in Gaza when 1,300 died. The indifference to Darfur can be interpreted as a reflection that Europeans or Americans simply are not that interested in the plight of Africans. In the latest example of Sudan aggressiveness, Sudanese troops took control of still another town and forced even more refugees to flee. The rebel Justice And Equality Movement, (JEM) fled the town, but they undoubtedly will continue fighting in more rural areas.

At least 30 civilians are dead, and more forced to join the 30,000 who have been displaced since January fighting and eventually these people will join the million refugees who now live in camps under UN supervision. UN forces may be in the vicinity of fighting but they tend to maintain a low profile and allow the killing and displacement process to continue.

Thousands of people throughout the world are protesting against the inhumane bombing policy of Israel which has resulted in the deaths of innocent men, women, and children. But, for some strange reason, there are no demonstrations against the Muslim nation of Sudan which has killed–not 1,000– but over 200,000 innocent men, women and children as well as raping females and driving over 2.7 million Darfurians to seek refuge in other lands. Why is there silence in Muslim nations at what incoming Secretary of State Hillary Clinton terms a “terrible humanitarian crisis compounded by a corrupt and very cruel regime which she believes is engaged in genocidal policies.

The Obama administration is considering no-fly zones and even the possibility of blockading ports in order to end the murderous Muslim leadership which has unleashed the janjaweed to kill and rape without remorse. It appears the government of Sudan President Omar al-Bashir was praying for a McCain victory and now fear that liberal Democrats will actively support the people of Darfur. Bashir intensely dislikes Susan Rice, the new US Ambassador to the UN who has spoken of the need to end Sudan’s murderous policies in Darfur.

Hopefully, in the coming days, protestors in the Arab world, Europe, Latin America and Asia will be marching in the streets with signs saying, “we are all Darfurians.” If killing 1,000 is an example of “genocide,” then what is the killing of 200,000 to be termed?